It Is Complicated

A very short update - recorded in one take and un-editedby Dr J - so it makes some sense. 1) We are still here2) We appreciate our listeners3) We are planning a move to SubStack - we'll be doing that in coming weeksWe will record episodes possibly talking about the break (or not) - and publish the backlog - see you soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode of It Is Complicated, we remember Suzanne Osten, who died on the 24th October 2024 This interview was recorded a year ago, we are releasing it now as a tribute to her. We do have a backlog of episodes, this one felt important to put out first. Josephine met Suzanne in 2005 after Suzanne saw one of her performances and invited her to be in an opera, even though neither of them had experience in being in, or directing an opera. Suzanne’s adventurous spirit and willingness to try new things left a lasting impression on Josephine, and you can hear in the conversation how Suzanne was a force of nature—creative, chaotic, and always up for a challenge. This episode celebrates Suzanne’s incredible impact on the art world and her lasting friendship with those who knew her.Suzanne Osten’s IMDB page https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0652305/Transcript (from zoom) for this episode IIC Episde 62Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicated Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr J, Josephine and CN Lester discuss their multi-hyphenate, portfolio working lives. Even for those with salaried jobs, there is always the side gig (or two or three) and projects. Performers, academics, scientists, consultants, photographers, authors - there is not a single role that defines them.This was recorded in March 2023 - since then - Josephine's book is available at Where it all started Novel , and CN Lester short story is out in the anthology Furies: Stories of the Wicked, Wild and Untamed - Dr J is still writing their first book proposalhttps://whereitallstartednovel.com/https://burleyfisherbooks.com/products/9780349017167 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode comes with a content warning - it is dark! Some of the darker places ended up on the cutting room floor, and it is still dark. Be safe when you listen to this.An apology to Brianna Ghey and her family. Dr J managed to mispronounce their surname all the way through. We picked this up in the final edit. In this episode we tackle the level of transphobia that is now so entrenched in our society that people with privilege can make a jibe about it within parliament. We talk about the impact of this upon us personally, and as a group. We do our best to bring our usual sense, humour and compassion to this conversation. We approach the impacts and arrive at a resolution.It is by advocacy for ourselves and others like us, that we can get through this.We also end up with an usual Breathtaking rant from Dr J - who has a Billy Joel obsession going on right now, as well the Muppets - Tenderly!Muppets - Dr Teeth & the electric mayhem - TenderlyWe have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 60 TranscriptOur Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicated - your subscriptions help us pay our guests for their timeGive us feedback - get in touch on Patreon as social media is a trash fire - we’d love to connect with you - or leave us a rating or a review on your favourite podcast platform Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the fifth in our Queer Voices series we talk with Samantha Béart, actor, currently known for playing Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3. We talked about how games and performances and performing in and for games, allowed us to explore, examine and find ourselves.We get into the ways games have allowed us to understand the world and ourselves, the joy of the “Fuck around and Find out” nature of some games, how trauma can be understood within a game. How games can take us deeper and into places we didn’t expect allowing us to explore and have positive experiences. There are some gigantic nerd theory moments.Links we talk about:Where it all started: https://whereitallstartednovel.com/Paragraph 175 - film about homosexuality in German controlled regions in WW2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragraph_175_(film)The Ukie census of the Games Industry - https://ukie.org.uk/UK-games-industry-census-2020Karlach isn't a good girl blog post - https://www.tumblr.com/sailorgundam308/731617898834034688/karlach-isnt-a-good-girlFrom Queer to Eternity podcast - https://play.acast.com/s/from-queer-to-eternity/samanthabeart - which is almost 'Part 1' of this conversationWe have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 59 TranscriptOur Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - get in touch on Patreon as social media is a trash fire - we’d love to connect with you about routine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the fourth in our Queer Voices series we talk with Laura Kate Dale, games journalist, author, and accessibility consultant. We started on how some of our narratives are routed in negativity, and how that can be turned into talking about Joy and Euphoria, small or large.This leads into us talking about how the little things can fight back against the system every day, challenging how we see our own lives. We can overlook the small joys, taking them for granted, ignoring the heart sing moments. We can be proud of ourselves in the small moments and in the big moments, and we have our narratives that are outside of the normative view of the world.Our special interests this week are trains, train data, weddings and Baldurs Gate 3. Find Laura Kate Dale here: https://laurakbuzz.com/Get Stories of Autistic Joy here: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/stories-of-autistic-joy-laura-kate-dale/7460206?ean=9781839978098 in the UK and https://us.jkp.com/products/stories-of-autistic-joy for other countriesWe have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 58 TranscriptOur Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - get in touch on Patreon as social media is a trash fire - we’d love to connect with you about routine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the third in our Queer Voices series we talk with novelist, poet and performer Rosie Garland. We set off talking about what we all have on (and sadly some of the opportunities to see Rosie are now in the past due to our slowness to release this due to 2023). We talk about performing and writing.We move onto what feeds us, the activities that we do every day, or maybe only sometimes, that feed our souls and hearts and minds. They keep us going, the routines that are concrete and quantifiable things we do.When we are busy, when we are doing “too much`’, when we do it right, we are doing things that feed us and make us feel as ourselves and help us carry on. What feeds our souls is important and necessary.We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 57 TranscriptRosie Garland - http://www.rosiegarland.com/Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - get in touch on Patreon as social media is a trash fire - we’d love to connect with you about your use of routine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a special episode where we have Dr J on the Mind the Product podcast - https://www.mindtheproduct.com/business-analysts-in-product-dr-j-harrison/ Dr J also talks about 2023 and why they haven’t had a chance to watch any Keanu Reeves recenltyWe have a transcript for this episode - IIC Special Complicated Complicated TranscriptOur Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - Our Mastodon - https://ohai.social/@itiscomplicated- or leave us a rating or a review on your favourite podcast platform - We are both on Insta - https://www.instagram.com/drjharrison/ and https://www.instagram.com/josephineabaird/  or find Dr J on Threads - https://www.threads.net/@drjharrison Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Released on Trans Day Of Visibility.This episode we talk about the way you can tell if a space is safe, the flags we see, both green and red, how they can co-exist, and that we can spot duplicity and performative actions. We also talk about being here - for each other. That simple notion of being here, as someone to talk to, as someone to step up, as someone who takes the blows so you don’t. Our being here is winning, we are hope, bruised and bloodied, running back into the battle!That video from Matt Ricardo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=637OvuxB_bY&t=3s&ab_channel=MatRicardoCorrection - Dr J thinks Richard Grint played Ron Weasley, we all know it's Rupert Grint. We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 56 TranscriptOur Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - we’re left twitter - we are sometimes on Mastodon - https://ohai.social/@itiscomplicated- or leave us a rating or a review on your favourite podcast platform Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second in our Queer Voices series we talk with Dr Joe Parslow -  Lecturer in Popular and Queer Performance and Hashtag Doctor Husband Boyfriend Joe - about drag and queer performance, breathing and togetherness - and the complications around making space and getting to breathe in those spaces. The queer notion of breathing together, coming together, and aspiration. Reflecting energy between the performers and the audience. How this connects us all in the space.We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 55 TranscriptOur Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - we’re on twitter - https://twitter.com/ItIsComplicatd - and Mastodon - https://ohai.social/@itiscomplicated- or leave us a rating or a review on your favourite podcast platform Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a special episode of a panel discussion recorded at eNBy City with Dr J, malakai, Haz and Lilly. We are talking to a room of mostly students. The event focussed on Queer Joy.This is the third part of a three part recording.We have done our best with the recording to clean up the sound during this last part of the panel discussion.This was recorded for the Hear & Queer Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@hearqueer5656 We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Special 3 eNBy City TranscriptOur Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - we’re on twitter - https://twitter.com/ItIsComplicatd - and Mastodon - https://ohai.social/@itiscomplicated- or leave us a rating or a review on your favourite podcast platform Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a special episode of a panel discussion recorded at eNBy City with Dr J, malakai, Haz and Lilly. We are talking to a room of mostly students.  The event focussed on Queer Joy. This is the second part of a three part recording. Be aware about half way through we pulled the recording equipment apart - and it means the audio quality drops - I’ve done my best to equalise it and improve it - malaki and myself still have a pretty much working mic, Haz, Lilly and the audience have a mic that isn’t working so well This was recorded for the Hear & Queer Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@hearqueer5656  We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Special 2 eNBy City Transcript Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - we’re on twitter - https://twitter.com/ItIsComplicatd - and Mastodon - https://ohai.social/@itiscomplicated- or leave us a rating or a review on your favourite podcast platform Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a special episode of a panel discussion recorded at eNBy City with Dr J, malakai, Haz and Lilly.  The event focussed on Queer Joy. This is the first part of a two (or more) part recording. This was recorded for the Hear & Queer Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@hearqueer5656  We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Special eNBy City Transcript Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - we’re on twitter - https://twitter.com/ItIsComplicatd - and Mastodon - https://ohai.social/@itiscomplicated- or leave us a rating or a review on your favourite podcast platform Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When asked the question “where do you want to be in ten years?” we break down - why? We spend so much time surviving, how do we then look towards a future? Our futures we see are not chrononormative, and we often step outside of the standard expectations.How do we see ambition, and its link to opportunity? Can you be ambitious when you can’t believe you can achieve it? What does ambition mean when you always think you won't have another chance to have a job? What does it mean when you have been knocked back consistently? When opportunity is there and we don’t have the drive, or ambition, what does that mean? Is it about our difference? Our lack of linear progression? What does mainstream ambition mean when you’re non-normative? Does being trans and non-binary impact on our desire for mainstream success? How does this impact on us in the workplace? In job interviews? Does a company seeing a place for us make a difference? We then get into the breathtaking nature of Keanu Reeves in Cyberpunk 2077, voice acting, the tall stompy lady, and storytelling in games. We mention:Cyberpunk 2077Resident Evil VillageThomas was aloneHugwave (from itch.io) We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 54 Transcript Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - we’re on twitter - https://twitter.com/ItIsComplicatd and Mastodon - https://ohai.social/@itiscomplicated- or leave us a rating or a review on your favourite podcast platform Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first in our Queer Voices series we talk with queer legend, writer and performer Kate Bornstein. We set off talking about Hope, flow through ideas of gender expression and authenticity, the nature of being authentic. If Hope and Fear are a binary, or can co-exist in a moment. We enter the realms of superheroes and secret identities, why Batman is an Elon Musk wank fantasy, and why Neil Gaiman’s Endless are perfection as a theology to lean into.  We land on queer joy as the connected reflections of our authentic selves, making our hearts sing! Queer joy may also have a Freddie Mercury moustache and a purple leopard print corset and heels! We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 53 Transcript Your Get out of Hell free card GetOutofHellFree.jpeg Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - we’re on twitter - https://twitter.com/ItIsComplicatd - we’d love to connect with you about queer hope and authenticity Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re back in a rare in the room together recording - We touch on the last six months for both of us - covid features prominently, as does fatigue and mental health.  Talking about plans, having one, and ambition, or appearing not to have some. Why we want to keep doing this podcast and what plans we have into 2025. How does it feel to have a three year plan? Well as queers, this is .. complicated. We made 50+ episodes without any real plan - so why do we think we need one? We want to be a “good” podcast - and we talk about what “good” means. The plan then - includes a series called “Queer Voices”.J explains this in a non-linear musing on “Only an Octave apart” and how Mx Justin Vivian Bond and Anthony Ross Costanzo's voices blend and bring deeper meanings to the songs they duet.  What happens when Queers are given space to give voice and starting to open that conversation and give space for that conversation to talk about what a queer voice is and what it means to have a queer voice and how those queer voices can change some of the meanings of what we're listening to.  We get deeper into this. We end on, as always, the breathtaking nature of Keanu Reeves.  We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 52 Transcript Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - we’re on twitter - https://twitter.com/ItIsComplicatd - we’d love to connect with you about being present. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well 2022 has been a right nightmare already!! This time we talk (in Dr J’s case very excitedly) about the words we need to hear and what it means to hear them. Dr J has four things they always wanted to hear - and by saying them to another person - they get to also hear them for themselves:- I am proud of you- I love you- I think you are an amazing person- I can’t wait to see your brilliant future Josephine reflects what it means to hear these things - especially when you are struggling with recovery from post-covid fatigue and trying to work full time, teaching, write a PhD, have a life with her partner and child, and editing this podcast. Spending all their spare energy worrying about what they have not been able to do they needed to hear that they are worth spending energy on.  We are resilient and powerful and have coping mechanisms that protect us. Our hypercritical voice overwhelms the outside voices and the negative voice grinds you down, and you get exhausted and they gain more power.Coping mechanisms include shedding the skins of old selves, old ways of coping, and putting these aside and looking at what behaviours we do now. In the past help was not there, and we needed to get through, so we found ways. High standards and hypervigilance got us here, and might not be what gets us through now.  We feel stressed and worried, our brain isolates us further and we forget we are not alone. We loose our connection with external voices and our ability to hear and engage with them.  When we reach out, connect and are heard it is powerful. We start to connect to reality, we heal, and we get into better spaces.We want to tell you lovely young queers - hey, it sucks, and I’m sorry you have to cope the way you are right now. I really do hope you find yourself in a position where you don’t have to cope with everything. It’s not about you, it’s about the culture and structures you are in, and your response to that is normal and natural. I am very proud of you, I am very excited to see what you do, and you are loved. And you are an amazing person.Dr J then raves about the wonderful “Hello cruel world” by Kate Bornstein https://g.co/kgs/m2fsSp - and will send you a copy if you need it if you DM them on Twitter. Earnestly expressing this, our want to make the world better for everyone is a good thing. Being there for you and for each other makes us feel really lovely things!Note: There are some sound issues with Josephine’s recording - we decided the emotional content of the episode was worth putting out even if the sound wasn’t up to our standards. We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 51 Transcript Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - we’re on twitter - https://twitter.com/ItIsComplicatd - we’d love to connect with you about being present. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This time we celebrate creating 50 podcast episodes - or 51, or 52 depending on how you count. We are excited about this - and there are moments when Dr J is obviously super excited. Josephine maintains some sort of dignity.  When we started the podcast we were both locked down in our spaces without structure from our day jobs (Dr J was furloughed, Josephine was between work), and 18 months later we are still in the same rooms, having conversations, and quite different lives in some ways. In others not much has changed. The isolation, exacerbated by our queerness, leaves us reaching out for others like us, and reflections of ourselves in media. This is why making space, and taking up space, in TikTok, in podcasts, and in the world is so important.We then move onto a long and excited discussion on Matrix Resurrection - and the breathtaking Keanu Reeves (and Carrie-Ann Moss) and what we thought about the film.  Links: The Matrix Sequels are good, actually - https://youtu.be/M0VnYcMHuDc We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 50 Transcript Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - we’re on twitter - https://twitter.com/ItIsComplicatd - we’d love to connect with you about being present. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Being in the room and taking up space is difficult. It takes a lifetime to believe that we should be in *this* room having *this* conversation, having self faith, self belief and humility is a challenge. Saying “I am here” is the hardest thing.It is simply correct that it is this way - I am here is sufficient. It is right that I am included.  Lack of self belief is a structural problem - there are those (Cis white men with a posh accent) who are assumed to belong, speak, take up space. It is not everyone who gets included by default. We are read when we go into those environments, how you walk in, how you talk, is all used to make judgments about the value placed on your words.  “I am here, I am present, I am listening” - I am taking up space - how you read me, how you react to my presence in this space has nothing to do with me. That is a huge mind shift, removing that apology, those moments of dissonance, which reduce ourselves in the presence of structure.Josephine goes on a rant/reflection from a talk on glamour from the Knutepunkt conference from Erik Winther Paisley (@ewpaisley) - which drives us into talking about how we can use the skills we have to boost our confidence and our feeling of correctness when we are here.  We talk about the things we do to build that belief in ourselves that it is correct we are here. We share our tactics and how we build each other and ourselves up.We also talk about how breathtaking Keanu Reeves is and why J has watched the Matrix Resurrections trailer many many times. Josephine presses “X” to doubt.  We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 49 Transcript Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - we’re on twitter - https://twitter.com/ItIsComplicatd - we’d love to connect with you about being present. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Performance changes your life, it changes how you think about things, it changes how you feel about yourself.  This is a favourite theory of Dr J’s, and in our case it is true. We met over performance, we found ourselves and identity through performance, and we find ourselves and our experiences reflected in performance.  We tell the tale of workshopping J’s gender identity, and how that came about. How performance built on ideas and conversations, allowing an identity to form. We talk about the way characters are built (if we like to perform them) and why we sometimes are a character and sometimes not.  We discover there are times when a performance reflects back a view of themselves to the audience, and you get this amazing, near spiritual moment of psychosocial experience within the room.  We also talk about how breathtaking Keanu Reeves is in a particularly dreadful film - River’s Edge - and Content Warning - cover the plot and how that is still sadly reflective of society today. We have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 48 Transcript Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - we’re on twitter - https://twitter.com/ItIsComplicatd - we’d love to connect with you about performance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.